Nowhere Man — Restaurant in England

I remember my very first American-style pancake. I was five, taken by my favourite aunt, Auntie Becky, to a nameless café—slightly grubby, with a woman at the next table muttering conspiratorially to a cockroach. And then the miracle: a golden stack, cloud-light, drenched in syrup. I was transfixed.

For the next three decades, I went looking for that same alchemy. IHOP. Countless roadside diners off anonymous highways in the US, trendy London brunch spots promising “authenticity.” Each time, I left chastened. The pancakes were either too dry, or too stodgy, merely edible. I began to suspect my childhood memory was an invention—one of those shimmering false recollections that grows taller than truth.

Yesterday, on Brighton’s stylish side near Montpellier Terrace, I walked into Nowhere Man with the same wary heart. I ordered “The All American Dream”: scrambled eggs, bacon, blueberries, whipped cream, and the stack. Three pancakes, high and proud. I stared at them with the nervous reverence of someone about to test a myth.

The first forkful silenced me. Hot, buoyant, perfectly balanced—the edges almost crisp, the centres yielding like memory foam for the tongue. Sweetness tempered by smoke from the bacon, tang from the fruit. And yes, maple syrup pooled in golden eddies just as I remembered.

I was back in that nameless café, five years old, watching syrup glisten. Only this time there was no cockroach, no doubt, no disappointment. It was not a dream, it’s what dreams...

The service needs improvement. The first waitress told us to wait inside on the chairs by the door and gave us a menu to look at. We chose to wait for an “inside seat”, only to be completely overlooked and skipped almost twice in line before we managed to flag down a waitress and get sat. When we were sat, we were offered a table outside in an uncovered back patio, which would have been fine had it not been sprinkling. In addition, the table was rickety and ill placed so people often have to climb over each other or barely squeeze by just to get back to their seats (which they had to often, since the water and silverware are self serve). In addition, people seem to keep coming in the door to seat themselves, leading to unnecessary foot traffic and weird onlookers, sometimes even confusion for tables occupied but with people ordering at the counter.

Speaking of which, they ask you to order at the counter and they will bring your order to your table. However, they don’t seem to have any system and often are wandering around with food, leading to people who get served earlier than others, others who ordered first. All of this seems to be fixable with a simple system, but as it stands, needs improvement.

To be fair, the food was well cooked, presented, and seasoned. Just not sure if pancakes are worth a 20...

We went to Nowhere Man because of all of the great reviews and videos online. Hence why our expectations were high, which led us to feeling a bit underwhelmed. The cafe has a lovely atmosphere, the staff is really nice and the service was fast. But the food left us hoping for more. The matcha was a big disappointment, tasted like a cold green milk, save your money and get a coffee instead, that was pretty decent. We where amazed by the great selection and vegan offers but unfortunately the food was mediocre. A big selection doesn't help if the flavor is lacking. It all looked and sounded amazing but the vegan eggs tasted like nothing, not even salty, they were merely yellow tofu, the bacon was pretty good. It mainly tastes smoky and is a bit hard. The vegan pancakes have a slight banana flavor, i'm assuming it's to replace the egg, nothing overwhelming but if you don't like banana, you should keep that in mind. They where huge and fluffy but a bit dry, the maple butter helps but makes them way to sweet. Blueberry compote and whipped cream where nice though. Overall a cute place that i would've loved if i stumbled upon it, but since i heard so many people raving about it, left me a bit...